Before I Break
by KittyKait
Summary: Rusty has a confession and Sharon's had a bad day. Pure mothership feels.


**Authors Note:** Reading Fanfiction is one of my favourite things to do, so I wanted to see if I could write it as well. This is my very first attempt. My prompt was "Don't Cry" and its pure mothership feels. I do hope you enjoy, but if not, be sure to let me know, constructive feedback is always welcome. Big Shout out to **MadameCissy** for encouraging me to do this.

 **Disclaimer:** Major Crimes is not mine. Probably for the best really... :)

 **Before I Break**

Rusty stood behind the kitchen counter contemplating his options. As far as he could tell, he had exactly two. Tell Sharon the truth, or hide the evidence and pretend it never happened. How many tea cups can one person have anyway? It's not like she used more than one at a time.

The sound of keys in the lock of the front door startled him.

"Sharon, is that you?" Rusty called from his precarious position in front of the broken cup. It looked like his decision might have just been made for him.

"Just a minute Rusty, I'll be right out."

It wasn't like Sharon to not greet Rusty when she first got in, but she had allowed herself the luxury of shedding a few tears on the drive home and she wanted to wash her face before he noticed. Leaning heavily against the back of the bathroom door, Sharon closed her eyes and reflected on her day. It hadn't been a particularly unusual case, but the outcome had been tough and it had affected her more than she cared to admit. Children were always hard, teenaged boys with sandy blond hair were the hardest.

With a heavy sigh Sharon straightened up and moved to stand in front of the basin. She stared hard at her image in the mirror. Her eyes were red rimmed, her cheeks flushed but her skin was pale. She could see heavy lines across her face that she hadn't noticed last time she'd taken the time to really study her reflection.

Pushing all thoughts of vanity aside, Sharon reached for a face cloth and scrubbed her face clean of this day, then she quickly added some moisturiser before making her way across the hall to her bedroom. She selected her most comfortable casual clothing and hurried to change.

Out in the kitchen Rusty waited, Sharon always came in and said hello first, but she had been in her room for nearly ten minutes now and Rusty wondered what his next move should be. He had taken the opportunity to dispose of the broken pieces of china. Clearly the honesty ship had sailed, but should he go and knock on her door, you know, just to make sure she was ok?

Just as he was about to make his move, Sharon stepped out of her bedroom and headed down the hall towards him.

"Hey." Rusty said, suddenly not sure what to do with himself.

"Hi."

"Can I make you some tea, or like, maybe some wine?" Rusty offered.

"I look that bad do I?" Sharon winced, and brought her hand up to brush some hair aside that had become caught up in her glasses.

"No, no. You look fine, I just thought…" Rusty trailed off, clearly uncomfortable.

"It's ok Rusty, I was just teasing. A cup of tea would be lovely. Thank you." Sharon watched briefly as Rusty made his way back into the kitchen, and then turned to seat herself on the sofa. With a heavy sigh, she sat back against the cushions, sliding down just a touch so that she could rest her head against the back of the lounge suite.

With the kettle brewed and the teapot filled, Rusty carefully carried the tray into the lounge room and placed it in front of Sharon on the coffee table, he wondered briefly if she was asleep, but soon discovered she was just resting her eyes.

"You're going to have some tea too?" Sharon questioned as she observed the two teacups set down on the tray.

"Yeah." Rusty shrugged. "I thought I would give it a try, Is that ok?"

"Of course it is, here, let me pour." Sharon moved to sit up and reached for the teapot.

"How was your day today?" she questioned as she poured the hot tea.

"Better than yours I'm guessing" Rusty reached for the cup Sharon had just filled and brought it slowly to his lips. It was hot and bitter and just… "What even is this?" Rusty gasped as he spat the hot liquid back into his cup.

"I don't rightly know Rusty, you're the one that made it not me." Sharon tried hard to supress a smile, but it was too late, she was smiling, and so was Rusty. His attempt to cheer her up was clearly working.

"I think I'll stick to soda from now on. Can I get you anything else?" Rusty made his way back into the kitchen and grabbed a can of soda from the fridge, just for good measure he grabbed a chocolate chip cookie as well. Then returning to the sofa, he sat himself down beside Sharon and settled back to get comfortable.

For the next little while, they sat side by side on the sofa and Rusty filled Sharon in on his day, every now and then she would reach out and touch Rusty lightly on the leg or the arm, as if to reassure herself that he was still there. If Rusty was bothered by this he didn't say anything, instead he just continued on with his stories. He would never admit to anyone, but Rusty enjoyed sitting with Sharon like this, he wasn't used to people really listening to what he had to say. Sharon was always interested and she made him feel like what he had to say was important. He liked that about her.

The sound of Sharon's phone ringing startled them both, but Rusty was first to react, and he jumped up to retrieve the cell from the hall table where Sharon had left it when she first got in. A quick glance at the caller ID told him it was Lieutenant Provenza. That wasn't encouraging.

Sharon audibly groaned when she saw the display, and carefully schooled her features before she answered.

"Yes Lieutenant, what do we have?"

Rusty watched from behind the couch as Sharon quietly listened to what the Lieutenant was telling her, from the expression on her face he could tell she would soon be going back to work.

"Ok, yes Lieutenant, I understand. Thank you, I do appreciate that. I will meet you in the Murder Room shortly."

With that, Sharon ended the call and returned her head back against the sofa. Heading back to work was the last thing she had wanted tonight, but it seemed she didn't have much choice. Thankfully the Lieutenant had assured her that they didn't need her at the crime scene, and that she could take her time meeting them at the station. Louie Provenza was aware of the difficult day Sharon had had, and affording her a little extra time with her son was the least he could do for his Captain.

Sharon was aware it was approaching dinner time and even more aware of the fact that she had not had a chance to eat with Rusty even one night this week. Eating dinner with her son was all she wanted to do right now.

"How would you feel about burgers in my office for dinner tonight?

"What? Are you serious Sharon? Rusty seemed uncertain. Was she asking him to go into work with her?

"Sure, why not. It's not the first time we have eaten dinner at Parker Centre and I'm sure it won't be the last, what do you say?" Sharon asked hopefully.

Rusty wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but he could tell from the look on Sharons face that she hoped he would say yes. His mother sure was acting strange tonight. Rusty was beginning to feel confident about his decision not to tell Sharon about the broken tea cup.

"Ok. I guess Hamburgers in your office would be fine, but like, are we going to be late because I still have lots of homework to do and stuff…"

"Bring it with you, and no, we won't be late"

With that Sharon picked up the tray with the tea on it and carried it into the kitchen. She poured the remaining tea down the drain and opened the drawer with the rubbish bin in it to dispose of the used teabags.

If it wasn't for the fact that her first attempt to put the teabags in the bin had resulted in the string dangling over the side, Sharon might not have noticed the handle of the broken cup hiding under a tissue. She reached in and lifted the broken piece out of the bin, studying it carefully as she brought it closer to her face. Was that… Her mothers teacup?

Rusty froze as he watched Sharon examine the china before digging through the trash to find more broken pieces. He should say something. Confess? Apologise? Lie? No, definitely not lie.

"Sharon, I'm sorry…. I wanted to tell you, I really did, and I was going to I promise, but then you came home and you looked tired and…"

Rusty stopped talking when he realised Sharon wasn't even paying attention to him. Was she crying? Over a broken tea cup? Rusty panicked. This was certainly not how he thought this would go.

"Sharon…?" He moved closer in an effort to see her better. He observed the gentle shake of her shoulders, and the sharp intakes of breath Yes, she was definitely crying.

Sharon put the broken pieces of china on the bench and turned her back to Rusty. Why was she crying? She didn't even really like this particular cup and it wasn't like she didn't have plenty of others. So what if it had once belonged to her mother. And yet, the tears continued to fall. Sharon cursed her emotions, but there was no point trying to hide them now, Rusty had seen her and he looked horrified.

Taking a shaky breath, Sharon tried to compose her features before turning around to face him. She failed miserably.

"Sharon, Please. Don't cry" Rusty had only seen Sharon cry once and that time it was his fault too. Why was he always the one to make her cry?

He stepped even closer. Was he meant to hug her? Why wasn't she trying to hide her tears from him, like she did the last time? Rusty was filled with uncertainty and emotion, the only thing he knew for sure was that he desperately wanted to make her feel better.

Without being fully aware of his actions, Rusty stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Sharon. His movement startled them both for a minute and the initial contact felt awkward and uncomfortable. Rusty felt Sharon go stiff against him and again he panicked. Had he done the wrong thing?

Before he had a chance to change his mind and pull away, he felt Sharon's arms go round him and she held tight. The sudden shift in the air was immediate and strong. Rusty could feel the tension drain from his mother and he knew he had made the right move.

"I really am sorry Sharon" Rusty whispered into her hair. He didn't know what else to say.

For a long moment Sharon and Rusty stood in the middle of the kitchen holding onto each other. Rusty wasn't sure how long he was meant to stay like this, but as he was getting ready to decide how long was appropriate, Sharon stepped back first.

"Don't be sorry Rusty. I'm the one that should apologise to you, it's been a difficult day and I guess I let my emotion get the better of me. Over a teacup." Her face looked red and blotchy and Rusty could feel the evidence of her tears soaked into his shoulder, but at least she had stopped crying.

"So, like. I'm not in trouble then? Rusty looked hopeful.

"Oh no, you are most definitely in trouble young man" Sharon smiled, it was a weak smile, but a smile none the less. "I don't mind about the broken teacup, but you lied to me Rusty, and that is not ok."

Sharon watched as Rusty looked down at his toes, he was clearly remorseful and Sharon guessed the sight of her falling apart in the kitchen was enough to scar him for life. She figured they could talk about his lack of honesty at a later date. Tonight she was just happy to be with him.

"We can talk about that another time though, go and get your things whilst I get changed. We have a murder to go and solve"

Filled with relief, Rusty turned and headed towards his bedroom.

Sharon watched him go. It had indeed been a difficult day, and it was anybody's guess what new horrors were awaiting her at the police station. but for right now her son was safe and to her that was all that mattered. Even if she was minus one teacup.


End file.
